Initiatives to increase customer satisfaction and to provide continued improvement of consumer goods have compelled providers of those goods go to great lengths to collect feedback from consumers about the provider's product. One way in which providers gather information is by providing a warranty card with a product. The customer buys the product and then, hopefully, fills out the registration card with personal information as well as demographic information about the customer. When the provider receives the registration card, the information contained on the card is recorded and saved by the provider. In this way, a provider can easily reference the type and model of the product purchased by the customer.
Another way in which providers gather information about customers who use their products and the way in which customers use their products is by logging details of customer service calls made by the customer to the provider. This usually occurs when the customer is having problems with a product sold by the provider. When a customer calls a customer service center operator with a problem the customer is experiencing, the operator who takes the call can ask questions of the customer, such as how the product is being used, the environment the product is in, how much use the product gets, problems observed in the use of the product, etc. This information is stored in a database and is linked to the customer. Thereafter, when the customer calls, a history of dealings with the customer can be retrieved.
In addition, data related to similar items can be linked to each other and, among other things, a customer service operator can tell if there is a historical defect with a certain product owned by a calling customer. If so, then the operator can focus on that particular defect as a possible cause of the customer's problem. This type of cross-referencing of data regarding products increases efficiency and increases the probability that the customer will have the problem resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
Printing device manufacturers are in a similar situation to the one described above. A printer, for example, may be sold to a customer. The customer operates the printer for months or years and then encounters a problem. The customer contacts the customer service department of the manufacturer, where an operator takes the call and pulls up information about the printer using the customer's name or the printer serial number that were provided on a registration card. The customer service operator is thereby well informed as to the customer's situation and the printer's use history.
A problem in such a customer service system is that an operator who takes a call from a customer must rely on a sometimes long list of characterizing questions to determine: (a) the computing environment with which the customer is having a problem; (b) the kind of problem the customer is having; and (c) the mood of the individual. This may be frustrating to the customer or the customer may not know many of the answers to these questions. In the case of a customer who calls with a problem regarding a printer, the customer service operator may need to know information such as the printer serial number, the percentage of print jobs that use duplexing, the average page coverage per print job, the percentage of pages that are printed with black ink only, etc. Most customers will not know the answers to these types of questions.
Another problem for the manufacturer is that the manufacturer must rely on the skills of the customer service operator. The human factor is very crucial in a customer service environment and an operator who lacks the proper knowledge to quickly diagnose a problem is of great concern. Furthermore, customer service operators do not normally have the authority to take an action that is necessary to satisfy the customer, e.g., replacing a part, sending a service technician to the customer's site, giving the customer a free item or service, etc.